It's not home without them
by Iamthebookthief
Summary: Liesel decides to visit her old home town of Molching, just weeks before her wedding. But what happens when she starts to relive her old life?
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfic so PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! Some criticism to help improve it would be much appreciated though. Thanks for taking your time to read this. :) – Thanks, Jasmine**

It was almost my wedding day. All the plans had been done and my fiancée and I loved eachother dearly. The dreams had almost stopped. I stopped remembering a boy with a sore knee playing in the snow, kissing the lips of a dusty lifeless figure, and watching a dead man play the accordion. I still had Max and Alex Steiner however and they helped me through the days where I remembered everything. I checked the plans with the wedding designer and thanked her for all her help. She nodded to me and presented me with a glass of champagne before we talked it over. It brought back memories of an accordion and the smell of paint.

"Your dress should be ready tomorrow," she said, sipping her wine gracefully.

"Thank you once again, but I should really be going home now." I knew this was going to be a bad day. The tightening in my chest told me so.

Keeping the smile on my face, I was getting married after all; I thanked her once again and went home.

When I got home I immediately rang Max.

"I need to get away Max," I said quickly, "I need to take a break."

"But why, Liesel," he asked, "You're getting married in a few weeks."

"I need to visit them."

Max understood. I knew he would. I needed to see Rudy and my Papa and Mama. I need to talk to them and have them comfort me.

"What about Jonathan?"

The mention of my husband worried me. I knew that he'd worry and want to come with me, but I had to face this alone.

"I'll talk to him and explain everything." I assured Max.

"Then Liesel, I'll take you."

I knew I wouldn't convince him otherwise. Max was too stubborn.

"Alright," I sighed, "I'll talk to you later then."

"You don't seem too happy about me coming with you." I heard the smile in his voice as he teased me.

"Bye Max," I answered, ignoring his comment.

And before he could answer, I hung up the phone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everybody! Thank you to jaimek45 for following and making me dance around my room screaming and to cheshirecat9116 who made me so happy that I started laughing and accidentally spat out my custard. Sorry if this is completely awful and a waste of time, but I know that if I don't write and post it tonight I will completely forget. Thanks for reading. – Thanks, Jasmine :)**

The plane flight was long and uncomfortable. Especially since the seats had barely any room and I was made to sit next to a crying baby for almost 22 hours. Max was asleep, providing me with no entertainment, especially since I'd already finished my books. I decided to walk around and hunt down some food. There was sure to be and abundance of it here somewhere. When I got to the black of the plane, I saw someone looking at me. It took me a while to realize that I knew them and that confused me even more. But still, the silver eyes and height. The only difference being the flesh on his bones. It had to be, yet that was impossible.

"Papa?" I asked warily, as I walked up to him slowly. But why would he answer to that now, "Hans?" I asked again.

The person looked at me and I immediately wondered how I could mistake him as Papa. The silver in his eyes didn't sparkle like Papa's had.

"I used to be Hans," the man said, "But I abandoned my Father's name years ago."

I gasped. Hans Junior.

"Then what's your name now?" I asked, cautiously.

"Mark," he replied simply, "And who, may I ask, are you?"

"Liesel Meminger."

Hans Junior, or Mark, stared at me like I was a ghost.

"But.." he mumbled, "no-one was supposed to survive that bombing. That's impossible."

"Apparently not," I smiled at him, "So what brings you to Germany"

"Work," he said, making a face, "I'm supposed to be writing a report on Munich during World War II."

"Same!" I yelled, "except I'm not writing a report, and I'm not here for work. Actually not the same."

Mark smiled. Something I hadn't seen him do during his visit. I saw an air hostess with a food cart and smiled. Even plane food smelt good right now. I said my goodbyes to Mark and wandered off to the food cart, and then back to my seat. This trip was taking an unexpected turn.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! It's Saturday night so that means its STORY TIME! To LaughingLadybug: The reason Hans Junior's name was changed to Mark was because of how he felt about his father and how he didn't want to be associated with him. Thanks for asking. :) And to Maddi and Rudy Steiner: Thanks you for reviewing, favouriting (I don't think that's actually a word, but oh well) AND following! You made me dance around the room… Guys, please tell me what you think of this chapter as I was trying to subtly introduce the fact that she is hallucinating, but not very subtly since I just told you… Never mind but please do still review and tell me what you think - Thanks, Jasmine :) **

My plane landed shortly after my encounter with Mark. From the airport, we had to drive to Munich. Yay, I thought, more travelling. Rolling my eyes I hopped into the car. Cars roamed the streets like horses galloping in a herd. Buildings loomed above me, blocking out the views.

My first order of business in Munich was to find Himmel Street. I wandered aimlessly down the street where my life had both come together, and fallen apart. I smiled as I saw two children, a boy and a girl, racing eachother down a snowy road and falling over. The boy asks the girl for a kiss and she sharply rejects him. I saw my old house, now a multi-storey building with signs warning "Vorsicht vor der schwule Mann – Beware of the gay man." Appalled, I turned away. How could such a warm place have turned so cruel? I decided to find comfort in the one place I had always counted on – the mayor's library.

Breaking in had been a lot easier when I was shorter and a lot skinnier, but still, I made it. I smiled when I say Ilsa sitting in the chair across from the window.

"Hi," I said, "I've decided to use the window again."

She smiled at my joke, silently putting down her book.

"Well, I'm glad to be able to see you Liesel," she laughed, "But if you'd told me you were coming we could have saved you the effort of the window."

"It was kind of last minute," I admitted, feeling guilty I hadn't called.

I sat down on a chair opposite Ilsa, and caught up on life. I told her about my engagement and she told me about the book she was writing.

"You inspired me, Liesel. You made me realize that I had to be more than my grief. When I found you that day on Himmel Street… It broke my heart and I needed to help you. So I took up writing."

A butler came in, one I had never seen before.

"Herr Grucken? There is a strange lady in the library. Should I call the authorities?"

Confused, I asked him why he was calling the mayor, Herr Grucken instead of Herr Hermann.

"Herr Hermann died 10 years ago, ma'am."

He promptly left and as I looked around I realized I had been talking to an empty chair.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello my beautiful Book Thieves! It's 9:30 on Saturday night but I hope that I will have pleased all of you with my next installment. I hope you all are well... Now for the comments... ThatDivergentMockingjay: Thank you so much! You guys should stop making me happy cause I almost threw MY SCHOOL ISSUED BRAND-NEW LAPTPOP ONTO CONCRETE! To cheshirecat9116: I see your point. When I reread the hallucination it was quite brief and so thank you for bringing that to my attention. I shall try and lengthen the hallucinations and main points a bit better. Please suggest ideas for the story because I'm not good at the coming up with the ideas part of the story writing… And just so you know, every sign in my story that Liesel is slowly sinking towards depression are all real signs of depression, so if you self-harm, or feel suicidal, or feel any of the signs of depression for more than 2 weeks, please talk to someone who will be able to talk to you… And if you ever just need someone to talk to then you can always talk to me over email or something… Do you guys actually read my ramblings or am I just talking to myself? Please tell me so I know whether to continue writing them or not… - Thanks, Jasmine :)**

The hotel was beautiful. The roofs seemed to reach all the way to God Himself, and the marble floors looked like they had been swirled to perfection. Golden chandeliers hung every few metres, creating a calm light over the lobby. Our room was equally as beautiful, sporting two double beds and so many pillows you could get lost in them. I didn't feel like admiring the views though. My encounter at the Mayor's house had shaken me up, making me want to just sleep. But, my dreams brought me no relief and I kept remembering hearing the bombs and having the walls caving in. I kept seeing the mayor's wife, sitting in her chair, and the butler, looking at me like I was crazy. I woke up many times during the night, soaked in sweat and tangled in my sheets. Each time I woke up screaming, Max would cross the space between our beds and rock me back to sleep. When I woke up in the morning, my head felt like someone had a giant hammer and was banging it behind my eyes. I reached for some painkillers in my bag, realizing I had run out. With a groan, I half-rolled out of bed to go find a pharmacy. My arms hurt and my legs struggled to hold me up.

In the lobby, I asked one of the receptionists where the closest pharmacy was. Luckily for me, it was only a few minutes' walk. The breeze was cool and crisp, kissing my face and taking away the memories of the night before. The pharmacy wasn't open when I arrived and so I decided to grab a bite at the café I had spotted across the road, suddenly realizing how hungry I was. It was in the same place as Frau Diller's shop, with the same picture of the Fuhrer, staring at you with his funny little moustache. When I had sat down with my coffee and bagel, I saw a young girl run in, with a by whose hair was the colour of lemons. They place a coin on the counter, and I watch as the shopkeeper throws a lolly onto the counter in place of the coin and says, "Mix it yourself". I smile as the two children run out of the shop laughing and arguing over how they will cut it in half.

The pharmacy finally opens and on my way home I smile at the thought of the lemon haired haired boy and the ten-licks lolly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Have any of you seen "The Book Thief" movie? It was very good and didn't change the book's storyline too much except for two things that made me a little annoyed: in the movie Liesel got the diary from Max and Rudy works out that Liesel's family is hiding a Jew when he finds her diary. I didn't write last weekend for 2 reasons. First: I was busy and tired with assignments and couldn't be bothered. Second: Nobody made any effort to tell me what you thought and so I felt a little bit sad. Thanks to .writing for following and favouriting, as well as MySexyPack101 for favouriting me and the story. So *in Elvis voice*, thank you, thank you very much. Now let's continue with the story. – Thanks, Jasmine :) **

I was awoken from my sleep by a knock on the hotel door.

"Who is it?" I asked, my voice groggy from sleep.

"It's just me," I heard Max, "And a visitor."

I was about to tell them to come in when I remembered my current attire, promptly deciding against it.

"Just give me a few minutes and I'll meet you downstairs."

Max's visitor turned out to be Mark. My first thought was about how nice it was to see him, while my second thought wondered how he had found out where we were staying. Oh well, I thought, that can wait.

"Liesel," Mark said, "I wanted to talk to you… about my father."

"Yes?" I said, cautious as to where this conversation was going.

"I wanted to apologize to you about how I acted to my father, and how I acted to you. I know that it probably can't do much since I can't apologize to him. And I also wanted you to know that I loved both Hans and Rosa very much but could not, and still cannot, forgive him for turning his back on his country."

I was stunned about his apology, but could not figure out why.

"Umm… I forgive you?" I stumbled, making it sound more like a question than a statement, "And I'm sure that Mama and Papa would have too."

Mark scratched his leg, drawing my attention to a bandage stained with blood, turning brown from lack of being replaced. Without meaning to, I cringed and pulled a face. Seeing the look on my face, Mark explained.

"When I was in Russia, I was sent to the front line. Bullet wound. The doctors said that because I couldn't afford the stitches or the surgery to remove the bullet, it would stay like this possibly forever. I have to keep a bandage on it to at least slow down the blood flow."

I'd never enjoyed the sight of blood, and little stars started circling around my head.

"I work in an office as a lawyer's assistant now though," he laughed, "Bit quieter than a soldier. How about your line of work?"

"I work as a high school English teacher in Australia. That's where I met my fiancé, Jonathan. He teaches Maths at the same school."

"Ahh… a teacher," he smiled, but it wasn't a friendly smile. It was an I'll-hunt-you-down-and-murder-you smile, with the corners turned up and the non-silver eyes.

I felt uncomfortable, but once again, was unsure why. He hadn't done or said anything menacing. Maybe I was suffering from a lack of sleep. I hadn't had breakfast, I realized! That must be it, I thought, calming down, I am simply hungry. My heart rate returned to normal and my breathing slowed. I felt a smile cross my face once again and managed to meet Mark's eyes.

"Well," I said, "I must excuse myself for breakfast."

"Goodbye," Mark said, that same smile still on his face, "We must catch up soon."

I finally realized Max was still there, and how quiet he had been during the encounter.

"Are you alright?" I asked, all my alerts on high.

"I'm not sure," he said, "But something didn't seem right about Mark."


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! I am so sorry that it has been so long since I've posted. A lot of craps just been happening and so I haven't had the time or motivation. But I'm finally on school holidays so I will try to post regularly. Thanks to BVBArmyDirector for favouriting AND following! It means a huge amount to me when you guys do that sort of thing. And as usual, thanks to cheshirecat9116 for reviewing and I hope that your school work is going well. One more thing… I don't know if any of you have read "The Gallagher Girls" series but I added a Zac moment to this chapter just cause I felt like it. – Thanks, Jasmine :) **

Max worried me the whole day. He continually double-checked everything, as if something, or someone, was out to get us. I didn't want to question it though. He probably wouldn't tell me anyway. We decided to walk through Molching that afternoon. The air was just beginning to cool as Germany headed into winter. We passed a poster on the wall. It seemed to stare us down and pull us to it by an invisible string.

"Molching Bombing Memorial Day. October 7th," Max read out loud, "That's today."

"We should go," I said with a small smile, "It might be a way to see them again."

Max smiled at me and put an arm gently around my shoulder. We walked off towards the town square, where the memorial was to be held. Bright banners were strung from buildings and a large poster was hanging from the town hall. Confetti was blown around by the harsh storm that had settled itself to watch the celebration. Fitting, I thought, a storm to celebrate death. But the colours didn't belong. They made the bombings seem like a good thing, like something we should be glad happened.

"I don't like it here Max. It's all wrong."

Max frowned and studied me carefully.

"I know," he replied, "This isn't what death looks like."

A parade started and the mayor rode out behind the floats in an expensive looking car. Dancers followed behind and twirled batons around themselves. The whole parade was orchestrated extremely well. I thought of how much Rudy would have loved this. I could see his laughing face as he watched everything going on, from the stilt walkers to the dancers to the marching band. When the parade stopped in front of the town hall, the mayor made a speech.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen, and I welcome you to the 20th anniversary of the Molching bombings. I didn't live here at the time but I know many people who did and it saddens me to think of how a place named after heaven was bombed with only one survivor. It would be my honour to introduce her to you all this evening. Could you please welcome Liesel Meminger."

The crowd applauded and a bubbly, blonde girl who looked to be about 20 walked onto the stage.

"Was she even born when it happened?" Max muttered to himself.

I stifled a laugh and looked around to make sure nobody had heard. Unfortunately though, someone had. Mark appeared next to us and tried to start up a discussion.

"Political stunt," he explained, "The mayor wants to get more votes at election time so thought he would talk to the one and only Liesel Meminger, so when he couldn't find her, he decided on a blonde school girl instead.'

"And how do you know this?" I asked.

Mark pointed to himself and winked at me, "Spy. There are some things you shouldn't know Liesel."

And with that he walked off.


End file.
